It is argued that most examples of mainstream schooling and education in New Zealand historically and in the present constitute a colonising experience, marginalising Māori by uncritically reproducing dominant and subordinate power relations. The following proverb provides readers with an insight into the struggle for the right of Māori to be Māori within the provision of education in Aotearoa. “Kua whakatata ngā pae tawhiti kia whakamaua tonutia, ngā pae tata kia tina”. The proverb speaks of transformation as a mode of bringing distant horizons in so close as to be localised. Therefore it is an apt reflection of the contributions of all the individuals who have struggled to conquer the ‘Māori language loss’ horizon and to bring it back in close. Such an approach acknowledges and celebrates the diversity of Māori medium contexts that encourage Māori whānau to claim and reclaim their indigenous knowledge in order to survive as Māori into the future.